Alexis

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Alexis
1
Thu, 10-07-2004 - 6:22pm

Hey Girl!


I was wondering if you have any general hints and/or exercises you could share with everybody that particularly helped you? I know there is more to recovery than doing an exercise, but every little tool helps. Glad you're here and spreading hope and encouragement. ;)

Love & hugs, Kristina


The opinions I have expressed here are from my own experience and are not intended as medical advice or to take the place of your own physician's advice.

Love & hugs, Kristina

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-23-2004
In reply to: cl_kkcarlton
Fri, 10-08-2004 - 10:20am
Hi Kristina and the rest of you gals -



The best "exercise" for me was my meal plan and my nutritionist. I trusted her not to feed me too much - and she didn't... for about a while i ate EXACTLY what I was told... then slowly weaned myself into doing it on my own... sometimes I didn't want to do this... and i wrote it in my journal and wrote about why etc... more on that below...

I also threw out all clothes as I got to big for them... this helped me not to want to get back to fitting in clothes that were to small.

Emotionally

1. I kept a daily journal of everything - I carried it with me sometimes on rough days... This way i never had to bottle up emotions... I could always let it out on paper... sometimes if i had a particularly good entry I'd share it with my therapist - but she never asked to see it so that made me feel like it was my personal territory.

2. I got REALLY involved in whatever i was doing... after the hospital i worked retail and I worked full time and hung out with the girls i worked with and my bf on days off... I went back to school and worked really hard on my major - graphic design... that kept me from dwelling on the process

3. I went in patient... i hated going... i loved being there... it interrupt my life for three months... it made me skip a semester in college... but... it saved my life...

4. I talked about it to almost all my friends and family... told them what was going on... asked them to help me out (i explained this didn't mean make me eat but that i needed to hear I was worthy of being a freind, that i was beautiful, that they wanted me around, etc...)

hope this helps girls... i am here for all of you - email if you like or aim: rexy211 (i'm usually on)

Alexis

PS I never got into those self-help books or exercises cus they felt to prescribe, like there was a right answer, or if i didn't have an answer i was not "normal", that my problem was beyond hope if the book couldn't help... so i abandoned those early on :)

PPS I celebrate the day I left inpatient every year - MArch 3 baby - the day i left my eatting disorder behind!